I thought Andy Carvin was fantastic when we got to talk to him on skype. He was so open to answering out questions and was totally down to earth.

The smile on his face when he was talking about the button on his photo that was behind him was awesome. You could tell that he was proud of it and that he was happy we remembered it from the book.

His personality was the same in person as it seemed to be when I was reading the book. I have been reading more parts of the book than just the chapter I was assigned to read. I really enjoy it, even though it gets pretty intense sometimes; maybe that’s why I like it so much. It keeps my attention and wanting to read more and more.

I’m really glad EMU gives us these opportunities to talk with awesome people like Andy Carvin, and I am so glad that Paulette sets things like this up for us to experience.

So I’m sitting in the mall taking notes like pro blogger says, wondering if this has any point to it to be honest. I don’t see how this has anything to do with my blog but what the heck I’ll give it a shot.

So I see lots of people walking in and out of the stores. Bath and Body Works is busy, as usual, I see females, mother and daughter, or I assume they are mother and daughter. There are some teenage looking girls there too. I see some Bridgewater students, I can tell from the names on the hoodies.

I see a lot of people texting and talking on their cell phones. What is the point of going out with friends and hanging out if you are just going to be on your cell phone the whole time… lame… I see some people walking this way now carrying a few bags, one of them is from Hot Topic and another one is from Debs, interesting combination.

Movies seem to be in high demand right now also games, the Gamestop has a line of people at the register. I think people like to be spontaneous and buy whatever they seem to like at the moment.

I’ve been walking past some stores and the retailers seem to be asking everyone who walks into their store if they can help them find anything. (some people just like to look )

Everyone’s store signs are bright colors. That seems to get s peoples attention. There are lots of sales right now, Bath and Body Works has a buy 3 get 3 free thing going on. American Eagle has a 20 percent off thing going, Areo has some sales too.

I wouldn’t have thought the mall would have been this busy but I guess business is soing pretty good right now.

Me- Hi Zach, thanks for talking to me about this topic. I know you and I have been talking a lot about social media lately and also about Anonymous which you said you weren’t that familiar with. I appreciate you talking to me about this anyway.

Zach- Sure, no problem, Im glad I can help. Right, social media is all around and continues to grow. I remember when I was younger chat rooms were really in and I would talk to people about things that were going on. It was a way for me to share information and for others to share information so I could increase my knowledge and learn. Than there was MySpace, Facebook and Twitter; social networking just continues to come up with more and more ways that we as a community and as a planet can interact with each other.

Me- So do you think social media should be something that the government should be able to put laws and limitations on?

Zach- I think that there should be some kind of guidelines but to the extent that things have been taken lately, that I do not agree with. Social media means, interactions among people in which they create, share and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. I can understand where some things should have “copyright laws” but this SOPA bill is pushing it in my opinion.

A bill that was introduced by Lamar S. Smith to expand law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking. With this bill in place it would require Internet service providers to block access to the websites. This would expand criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyrighted material. That could land you have years in prison, just for streaming material.

Pirating definition – One who makes use of or reproduces the work of another without authorization.

Do you think that there should be laws against copying(pirating)?

The University of Illinois disconnects pirating students. The school disconnects pirating students on the first warning. After a hearing students are allowed back online, but after the third strike the student permanently looses their internet access.

I know here at EMU it is similar. When I was a freshman I got busted for downloading music and movies. My internet was disconnected and I had to meet with HR and sign a paper saying I wouldn’t do it again on the EMU server. Of course I signed it and I have not done it again. My opinion on this matter is whats the big deal if I’m not selling this data? I downloaded from a torrent site where people share movies and music. I never really thought it was a big deal or that there was anything wrong with it until my freshman year when I got busted. I still don’t really see what the big deal is.. I would love to hear what other people think about this, so please feel free to comment and tell me your opinion.

Hacktivism is accessing and downloading documents from private servers or behind paywalls with the intent of making them publicly available. It is the use of computer and networks as a tool to protest and promote political ends.

In the beginning Anonymous hacked as pranks, more to say they could than to actually stand against something. Since then they have transformed the leadership of Anonymous which has lead a much more activist role. They have taken part in many international hackings, and speak out against different political issues.

Anonymous is everyone and no one. Anonymous is you. You will not be denied your right to free speech, free press, free association and your universal right to freely access information both in real life and on the internet.

As for the literal operation of Anonymous, becoming part of it is as simple as going onto its Internet Relay Chat forums and typing away. There are numerous Twitter accounts which claim to be affiliated with Anonymous, and more websites that post and repost (known as mirroring) Anonymous content than there is room to mention here. The real-life people involved in Anonymous could be behind their laptops anywhere, from an Internet café in Malaysia to a Michigan suburb. Anonymous appears to have no spokesperson or leader. One could participate for a minute or a day in a chat room, and then never go back again.